How to make our MX-3s drive and feel like new?

[mmmx3]

Mine's a 93 GS. I still like my MX-3. The V6(stock) still runs great and I have about 120K on it now. I took it for a roadtrip last weekend. I drove 1400miles in 4days. I got about 30mpg on highway. All fluids are still full and look good. I'm happy.

As my subject asks, anyone here done that before? Or how do we make our cars drive/feel like new? I just feel that my MX-3 is not as tight as before and when it goes over the bumps or potholes, it doesn't feel as tight as the new car; of course after I had a 2007 nissan rental car a month ago, that becomes more obvious to me.

[PATDIESEL]

Easy, the rubber bushings in the car are worn out and rotten. They all need to be replaced. The problem would be returning it to a stock feel. The only place to get a majority of the suspension bushings is from Mazda. Performance bushings will cost about the same as a stock bushing and so most everyone here would opt for the upgrade. The upgrade comes with a price though. The aftermarket bushings are going to be more stiff and create a more uncomfortable ride. Also, the stock struts are likely shot. Again, aftermarket is much cheaper, but there are many aftermarket OEM replacements (meaning they are made to feel like the original strut). So replace the lower ball joints, upper strut mounts, lower control arm bushings, outer tie rod ends (maybe inner tie rod ends), sway bar links and sway bar bushings on the front. The rear would need upper strut mounts, link bushings and sway bar links. I might have missed a few, but that is the majority. There is a company that makes a complete kit, but I cannot remember thier name.
The Mx-3 is not supposed to be a slushy drive. So replacing bushings is well worth the money IMO. I see a ton of people here that neglect the ride quality and handeling benefits of bushings.
GL (good luck).

[illapino]

So replace the lower ball joints, upper strut mounts, lower control arm bushings, outer tie rod ends (maybe inner tie rod ends), sway bar links and sway bar bushings on the front. The rear would need upper strut mounts, link bushings and sway bar links.

wait, aren't sway bar bushings the same as tie rod endlinks ?
so many car parts have double names, it annoys me ... !

[mmmx3]

Thanks for the reply. Can I get the bushings from the Advance? How many are they actually? 4? Do you know how much they're running and how long it will take to replace? How do we test if the struts are still good? There's no leak when I washed my car, I checked. Not sure about the mounts though.

I think handling-wise is about the same. When my car was in the air, I checked my wheels, no movements on the front wheels from different directions. I guess the tie-rods and ball joints might be still good.

Just wonder any good way to make my car feels tighter and drives newer? The difference is obvious when you drive a 14yrs old car with 120K car and when you drive a 2007yr car with few thousands miles on it.

[tehbrookzorz]

Easy

Pretty much any combination of what Pat said after "easy."

See if you can get a shop to do a free/cheap suspension diagnostic routine, and then get a 2nd and 3rd opinion.

[mmmx3]

What kind of shop do you think they will do a suspension for a good price or free check ? Meineke?(spelling!)

What is the name of the company sell the kits? How much roughly it will cost to spend?

I still like my MX-3 a lot. It's my daily drive and I drive a lot!!! I put DEXIII into my motor and ran for while and had an oil change, the motor is virtually running smoother and quieter than before! No more ticking on idle. I like it. If it's not costing too much to make my car better, I will like to do it. The handling-wise is about the same but when it goes over the bumps and some potholes, I can feel some plays/noise on the suspensions. Maybe the struts are not short yet just the mounts? Can we put some fillings( like to the engine/tranny mounts ?? ) or any ways to make it better? Don't know until you really can get into it...

[PATDIESEL]

Do a search for urethane suspension bushings. There is a company, but I've forgotten the name. It is an aftermarket manufacturer, not a parts store.
The cost is not going to be what I would call "cheap", but not much more than stock replacements would be. You can get upper strut mounts, ball joints, end links, and tie rod ends from most any parts store. My favorite place to get OEM replacement parts is RockAuto.com. They seem to have almost every MX-3 part and at the best or close to the best price.

Illapino, no they are not the same thing. The sway bar has two bushings between the bar and the mounts that hold it to the engine bay or the rear subframe. The tie rods connect the steering rack to the sinplde knuckle, nothing to do with the sway bar at all. The sway bar end links connect the end of the sway bar to the moving suspension, but do not actually hold the sway bar in place. The end links transer the movement of the suspension to the bar which in turn pushes on the other side of the suspension.

[racer3v]

How long did your run that in your engine? I have heard that it really cleans the engine out but smokes like crazy while doing it. Did you have a noticeable improvement? Please email me at v4racing@comcast.net Thanks, Vinny